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49

Three Months Later

Senior year has been no joke.

I can count on my fingers the days I've had time for some fun or to go out with my friends or Ares. We've all been consumed by the excellent-grades-required monster in order to have a remote shot at a good college when we graduate. It's been crazy, and we're all drained. Now, after a week of testing, I can finally relax a little and enjoy my boyfriend, who's lying on his side next to me.

The eyes are the mirror of the soul. . . .

Where have I heard that phrase before? It doesn't matter, I just know that it's true. I never imagined I could see so much by looking into someone's eyes, like I'm reading their biography.

Ares doesn't say anything, he just stares at me, and his eyes look so bright with the morning sun reflected in them. I don't know how long it's been since we woke up. His hand rests on the side of my face, his thumb caressing my cheek. I wish I could stop time so we can stay like this forever, without having to face the world or worry about anything else. I realize that happiness is not a perpetual state, it's just perfect little moments.

Ares closes his eyes and kisses me on the forehead. When he pulls away, the emotions in his eyes are as clear as water: love and passion. It makes me remember the beginning when I couldn't decipher him at all. And then fear settles in the pit of my stomach. When something is so perfect, the fear that something could ruin it can be overwhelming.

The alarm on his cell phone interrupts our moment.

"We have to go," he says.

"Argh!" I shout. I guess my little break from school is over. "Remind me why I have to study."

Ares stands up and stretches.

"Because you want to be a psychologist and help people, and for that you need to finish high school," he states, making me smile like a fool.

"Good motivation." I get out of bed with just his shirt on. "I'll let you be my first patient if you promise I'll be yours."

The good mood vanishes into thin air. Ares looks away without responding and starts walking toward his bathroom. I frown but say nothing; the subject of his university studies has been a sensitive one for the past month. He needs to talk to his parents and make a decision about which colleges to apply for soon, as the application deadlines for many schools are passing.

After watching him disappear behind the bathroom door and hearing him run the shower, I look for my backpack, which I find sitting next to a small library of books from school. I take advantage of the evenings when Mom is on night shifts to come and stay with him, and I bring my school bag with clothes so I won't be late in the morning. At first, it was awkward and embarrassing to be with Ares's parents and siblings, but as time went on, I realized that this house spends more time empty than occupied. Even when they're home, they tend to be locked in their own worlds or, in this case, rooms.

The one person I've interacted with quite a bit has been Claudia. She and I simply have chemistry, we get along well, and, although at first glance she may seem cold, she's actually very sweet.

These past three months have been wonderful. Ares has behaved like a prince. We've hung out, spent time with my friends and his friends, enjoyed wonderful sex. . . . We haven't had any fights, and I thank Our Virgin of Abdominals for that. I deserve this period of peace after all I went through in the beginning.

I'm taking my clothes out of my backpack and putting them on the table with Ares's laptop when several envelopes next to the computer catch my eye. One has a stamp that I recognize: The University of North Carolina.